Welcome to the Conservative Revolutionary American Party's BLOG. Conservative in that we believe in the Constitution of the U.S.A. We are Revolutionary in the way that our founding fathers were in throwing off the bonds of tyranny. We are American in that we are guided by Native American Spirituality; we ARE responsible for the next 7 generations. We are a Party of like minds coming together for a common cause. This BLOG is a clearing house of information and ideas.
PEACE…………Scott

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Impeach the Supreme Court 5

So Far ???? / About Me

Obama has made good on some promises but they haven't been implemented yet. I'm still withholding judgment until I see the outcome...which could be some time since the Repugs have continued their partisanship tactics. Time will tell. We have a long way to go but I THINK that we are at least trying to look at things differently....once again, time will tell. So I say to all "Good Luck & Good Night".......PEACE....Scott

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

COMMUNITY BASED JUSTICE COMES TO THE BRONX

AUBREY FOX, BRONX COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS - After decades of cynicism aboutrehabilitative approaches in the criminal justice system, in the lastfifteen years there's been a remarkable resurgence of creative courtexperiments to address problems like drug addiction, mental illness,juvenile delinquency and quality-of-life crime, as well as a new focuson improving court-community relationships. . .

Problem-solving courts have been around since 1989 (when the first drugcourt was created in Dade County, Florida), and they've reached aparticularly interesting crossroads: the approach is starting to attractthe attention of the traditional court system.

That's where Bronx Community Solutions comes in - it's an attempt totake the best of problem-solving experiments and see if they can work ina traditional court setting, as opposed to a stand-alone problem-solvingcourt. . .

So what have we learned after 18 months of implementing Bronx CommunitySolutions?

I think the good news for other jurisdictions interested in adoptingproblem-solving approaches in a traditional court setting (as opposed tocreating stand-alone specialty courts) is how much bang for your buckyou can get from relatively modest changes.

Most jurisdictions use community service as a sentencing alternative:what we've done is add social service to the mix. Most jurisdictionsneed to get through their arraignment calendar quickly: our method forscreening cases doesn't effect the speed at which the court gets itswork done. We also don't ask court players to abandon the adversarialmodel, which means that the legal rights or defendants aren't beingsacrificed in the name of rehabilitation.

The two areas where we've dramatically changed (or are trying to change)practice in the Bronx is by creating an in-house social service clinic,staffed by a team of social workers making connections tocommunity-based agencies in the Bronx, and attempting to forge new linksbetween the courts and the community though a Community Advisory Board.These are areas that require an up-front investment of time and money toget right.

One final note: it's important to note that problem-solving courtprojects like Bronx Community Solutions are not only about helpinglow-level offenders. They are also about punishing them appropriatelyand ensuring some accountability for communities hit hardest byquality-of-life crime.

The ability to appeal to both sides of the ideological spectrum isanother advantage of problem-solving courts, but it also means we cutagainst the grain of popular depictions of the criminal justice systemas too punitive. When you work in a large urban criminal court like theBronx, it's easy to be shocked by how little low-level crime getspunished, not the opposite.

We think it's appropriate to expect that low-level offenders,particularly those who are getting arrested again and again, can changetheir behavior (with a little help from us) or at least "pay back" thecommunity through a court obligation like community service.

- All judges in the Bronx will have a broad set of sentencing options attheir disposal, including drug treatment, job training, family servicesand mental health counseling.

- Offenders will be assigned to community service work in neighborhoodsthroughout the Bronx. Project staff will work with residents andcommunity groups to create community service options that respond tolocal problems (for example, trash in a local park or walls marred bygraffiti).

-By quickly assigning offenders to social service and community servicesentences, and rigorously monitoring their compliance, Bronx CommunitySolutions will send the message that community-based sanctions are takenseriously.

- Bronx Community Solutions invites community groups and local residentsto play a number of concrete roles in ongoing operations, includingidentifying hot spots and eye sores for community service projects, andparticipating in a neighborhood advisory board.

Since the project began pilot operations in January 2005, nearly 4,000individuals have been assigned to perform community restitution andreceive social services through Bronx Community Solutions. It isexpected that the program will handle upwards of 10,000 cases annuallywhen fully operational.

BENJAMIN SMITH, BRONX COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS - The Bronx CommunitySolutions community service crew was about to embark on its toughestchallenge yet: helping the Mount Hope Housing Corporation haul adumpster's worth of garbage out of an heavily overgrown, formerlyabandoned lot. . . While Mount Hope was excited to get our help, we wereequally excited to have the opportunity to experiment with a differentmodel of community service. For the first time in the Bronx, we werepartnering with a local non-profit to assist in visible and tangibleefforts to improve safety and neighborhood quality of life. . .

But to our clients, this was a day of court-ordered community service.They weren't sure what to expect, and mostly they were just hoping toget their mandate done. A typical day of community service is lightwork: mostly sweeping and picking up litter in public parks, sidewalks,and streets. Today, we would be cleaning a formerly abandoned lot piledhigh with trash. . .

After bagging a huge amount of trash and hauling it off the site, it wasobvious to everyone that we had really accomplished something. Althoughthey'd been skeptical at first, our clients were saying things like,"I'm going to come back a year from now and make sure they finish thisproject." "This is my neighborhood. I can't believe how much trashpeople dump here. It doesn't feel right."

Many of the clients who worked the hardest also sought information aboutjob training and job placement programs like Urban Youth Alliance andFEGS and we made sure to escort them to our clinic after the day wasover. We've learned that clients who show up and take their mandateseriously are often good candidates for these programs.

Rejuvenating neglected and abandoned public space in the Bronx has aspecial history. In the aftermath of wholesale disinvestment, the Bronxhas been rebuilt lot-by-lot and block-by-block, often by smallcommunity-based organizations and groups of neighbors. .

http://changingthecourt.blogspot.com/2006/06/making-difference.html

CENTER FOR COURT INNOVATIONhttp://www.courtinnovation.org/

GOOD COURTShttp://www.courtinnovation.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=610